anybody ever flush thier carboys and or kegs with Co2 before racking secondary or kegging. I've picked up the habit of flushing until a barbque lighter won't stay lit in the opening, my reasoning is if the flame won't stay lit, no oxygen. no oxygen, no oxidation of the liguid gold. Is this silly, am I wasting time and Co2 because it sure helps me to relax while i'm syphoning.

That's an idea with the lighter...that's one way to make sure there's no oxygen.

Before I fill a keg, I pressurize it with CO2...I have the gas go down the liquid tube so it blankets the bottom directly. Then I depressurize and fill the keg through the liquid tube with the lid on and the vent relief locked open. When it's full, I then add gas back down the liquid tube and allow it to bubble up from the bottom for about 5 to 10 seconds with the vent relief still open. This allows gas in the headspace to get flushed out as well as scrubbing away any green beer volatile aromas (such as sulfur). Then I close the vent relief and hook it up to carbonate. So far, no problems, and I have a couple of brews that have been in the keg for 15 months now.

That is exactly how I used to do it. learned it in How To Brew Quality Beer , my only concern was pressurizing a keg while it still contained atmosphere. thought that maybe under pressure Co2 and oxygen might mix up and be harder to flush completly out. Plus this way I dont need to be going back and forth between gas fitting and liquid fitting on my gas line or have a separate syphon line with a black bev. connect. Anyway thank you for your reply. It's great to talk with others who enjoy this exciting pastime, my wife doesn't here me anymore.